The Protector
by inkspot823
Summary: When things go bump in the night at the Hyuuga compound, who does everybody run to? I'll give you a clue; It's not Hiashi...


AN: Just a little story based on the idea of Hinata having a nightmare. You know, if your scared, you automatically want to go to the person who you feel the safest with. Same thing goes for horror movies. You're more likely to jump on your best friend than your significant other if your more comfortable with them.

I don't own these characters, but if you steal my writing, I will hunt you down and umm... do really bad things to you! Yeah! So no touchy!

Hinata was sitting by the river, enjoying the feel of the sun on her back. She could here people laughing around her, and it made her feel relaxed and lighthearted. Flopping back into the grass she allowed herself to pick a flower that was growing next to her, staring at it absently as she stroked it's soft petals. Everything was peaceful. So perfectly peaceful.

And then things started to fall apart.

Somebody screamed, and Hinata rolled over, aware of a strong wind whipping around the town. The sky had darkened and people were running and screaming, but Hinata couldn't tell from what. She went to activate her Byakugan, but found she couldn't use it. Panicking, she looked up to see a huge tornado swirling above her. Her long hair whipped around her face as she stared in horror, knowing it was too late to run. Screaming, she was hauled into it's dark depths and swept up into the sky never to be seen again. Alive...

Hinata sat bolt upright in her bed with a gasp, sweat dripping from her face. Running her hands over her body to make sure she was still all in one useable piece, she allowed her eyes to adjust to the dark of her room. Everything was neatly in place, just the way her father demand she keep it. Her gear was placed neatly next to the dresser that held all of her clothes, and she had her brushes placed neatly on top of it. She even reached under her pillow to check and see if the kunai she always had stored there (just in case) was still in it's place.

Wiping a hand across her face, she calmed her breathing, before swinging her legs out of bed and making for the hallway. It was dark, the shadows stretching and moving in the corner of your eyes, causing all the furniture to come to life, and any fleck of dim golden light to become a pair of evil yellow eyes, always watching. She hurried down the hallway as quietly as she could, slipping into a room all the way down the hall, closest to the front door.

She moved silently across the room to a huge bed in the middle of the carpet. Poking at the huge mass beneath the sheets, she watched it stir momentarily, waiting for a reaction. Neji sat up in bed tiredly, looking around groggily for the source of the disturbance that had woken him from his slumber. Slowly, he made out Hinata's shape.

"Hinata..?" He said groggily.

"Nii-san... I can't go back to sleep. Could I stay in here with you?" She whispered.

He stared at her for a moment, before deciding it would be easier to just put up with her than send her away. "Yeah, sure. That's fine." He muttered, letting her crawl under the sheets next to him. She hugged him and he threw an arm around her shoulders. "Thanks Nii-san." She mumbled before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.

Neji just nodded, and leaned back into his pillow, deciding to sleep sitting up.

Hanabi was running around the garden, letting the colors from the world around her blur into a beautiful rainbow. She stopped by the koi pond to play with the fish, letting them kiss her fingers and then pulling out of the water with a small laugh. She looked up at the sakura tree next to her as some of it's petals floated down to the water's surface. She was happy. So contentedly happy.

And then things were torn to shreds.

She smiled up at the tree until a shadow fell over her face. Recognizing the silloet of her father standing over her, framed by the dying blossoms of the cherry tree, a sudden fear gripped her stomach. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell he wasn't pleased to see her.

"Hanabi. Your performance as a Hyuuga has been horrible. Worse yet, you are the second child. We were going to just make you a branch member of the family, but you can not even do that right. Hanabi. I am sending you away. I disown you."

Hanabi stared at her father in horror as the ground beneath her gave way and she tumbled into darkness, doomed to fall eternally into nothing.

Hanabi woke up screaming, clutching at her sheets in panic to hold on to anything that would keep her from tumbling farther into the dark unknown. She lay there panting for a moment, just staring at her ceiling as she tried to calm herself down. Sitting up, she suddenly realized that she didn't want to be alone, and kicked off her sheets rather violently.

Sneaking over to the door, she peeked around the edge into the dark. She closed the door again quickly, not sure she wanted to go out, afraid there would be no floor for her to walk on. So, opening the door hesitantly, she stuck her foot out to check the floor. Finding it quite solid beneath her feet, she ran down the hallway as fast as she could. She could feel the shadows pressing in around her, trying to drag her down and pull her into their darkness, never to be heard from again.

Slipping into the room at the far end of the hall, she panted in fear for a moment, examining the dimly lit room, grateful that the moon was shining down through the window. As she made her way over to the far side of the bed, she saw Neji sleeping up right. Giving his arm a gentle shake, she whispered his name softly. He rolled his head around tiredly to look at her.

"Neji nii-san?" Hanabi whispered. "I'm afraid. Can I stay in here?"

He looked at her momentarily, wonder what on earth could possible scare the ninja child, but decided not to ask. "Sure." He grumbled, letting her slip into the sheets and cuddle into the crook of his arm. She settled herself in as he wrapped an arm protectively around her. As her eyes flickered shut, his head tilted back again and he closed his eyes sleepily.

"Thanks Neji-san." Hanabi mumbled sleepily.

"Mmm..." was all he answered with, before falling asleep himself.

Neji woke up the next morning with the sunlight streaming down on his face. Staring up through the window over his bed at the morning sky, he blinked groggily, willing the sun to go away. Sighing, he allowed his eyes to drift up at the small spinning object hanging over his bed, catching the sunlight and casting strange shadows on the wall.

"Weird ass dream catcher..." he muttered with a small grin. Allowing his head to tilt forward, he saw that Hinata and Hanabi were still sleeping on either side of him. He closed his eyes and blocked out the sunlight behind him, drifting back to sleep.

Soft footsteps echo's around the hallway as they strode with a forceful and rather annoyed purpose. Honestly, Hiashi couldn't understand why Hinata and Hanabi never slept in their own beds. They were ninja now for goodness sake, and they shouldn't have to go to somebody else if they have a bad dream. But the worst part was that they weren't even coming to him. He was their father! Why on earth would they go to Neji instead?

Angrily, he threw open Neji's door, gritting his teeth at the sight of his two daughters tucked comfortably under the sheets along with him, and all of them sleeping peacefully. He took in a huge lungful of air, readying himself to yell long and loud.

Hanabi woke with a groggy start as Neji's arm moved around her. She felt it twist around behind her shoulders and come back out swiftly. She watched as all the muscles in her cousin's arm stretched and bulged as it flung a kunai at her father. He barely dodged, startled and flustered. Then, she watched her father's startled face turn to a horrified look when he realized that Neji was still sleeping, and he quickly retreated, shutting the door behind him.

Smiling at her fathers terrified face, she felt Neji's arm settle itself back into place draped around her. Closing her eyes, she snuggled a little deeper into his side.

There were three reasons that she and Hinata always ran to Neji's room.

1) He didn't snore.

2) He never asked questions.

and 3) He was their protector. As long as he was there with them, they knew nothing would get them. Not even the dark reaches and claws of a nightmare. Or even their grumpy jealous father...

An: Ok, I don't care what any of you think, this is not Hyuuga-cest. Got it? Not!! And I know there are probably a lot of grammatical/spelling errors in this, but then again, I wrote it when I was half-dead tired. So, yeah, my bad.

And apparently, people seem to like my Hyuuga stories, so here's another one, just for you guys! Hopefully, I'll have more up soon! :D


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